All Diets Are Bull***!

This one will get me into trouble, but I don’t care! I write about this all the time. I know I repeat myself on this topic, but that’s only because there are far too many people out there that still don’t realize how bad diets are. I hate seeing people fall for these scams. I hate seeing people be victimized.

Diet’s are complete B.S. They all do the same thing. They make big promises. They convince you that, “This time, this time, it will work. THIS is the one true answer!” But they all only do one thing, when you get right down to it, they get you to take in fewer calories than you are burning off. But that’s the problem.

You are burning off more calories than you are taking in . . .for the moment. However, all this does is help you lose weight, temporarily. Eventually your body will slow down your metabolism, and you will gain the weight back. I have written about this in several previous posts. I won’t rehash this point. Today, I want to share an alternative, moderation. (GHASP!)

Psst . . .Carbs are good!

OK. You already know that carbs taste good. Bread, rice pasta and so forth are delicious. Unfortunately, the diet-selling maniacs, in their quest to make big money fast, have sold the public a fairy-tail about the evils of carbs. Well, it’s time for this to stop!

First of all, how can any diet that preaches, pork rinds are good and apples are bad, maintain any validity? Are we so ready to believe what we want to believe, that we throw common sense out the window? What’s that? I can live on a diet of bacon? Yes. Yes, that does make good sense. (Facepalm)

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I eat carbs. I always have and I always will. I am just now returning to the gym after a long absence. I had several surgeries to repair some sports related injuries. (Football and ice-hockey, not gym related injuries.) During my layoff from the gym, I gained 20 lbs. and lost a lot of muscle. The reason I wanted to share this is because while I was at my peak (at 5% body-fat) and eating pasta and rice every day, people told me I was lucky and that I had a “special” metabolism. (Facepalm #2) You see, I needed the carbs, to fuel my workouts.

No carbs, no power

I accidentally went carb-free for about 2 weeks. I was in bulk-up mode. I wanted to add a few pounds of muscle before the summer months. I started taking protein drinks 3 times a day. I was eating egg whites, chicken, turkey and cottage cheese all day every day. I wanted that all important muscle building-protein. Seemed like a good idea.

The problem was, without even realizing it, I had eliminated carbohydrates from my diet. I was so busy, buying, preparing and eating protein, that I didn’t think about the carbs I was missing. One day, I was doing bench presses. I put my warm-up weight on the bar. I should have been able to do 30 repetitions easily. I struggled to do 10 reps.

I didn’t know what was going on. I had been running low on energy for a few days now. I felt so weak. I knew I had enough rest and sleep. I was eating my high protein diet. What was wrong? Was I sick? Then, as I sat on the end of the bench, it hit me! Oh shoot! I haven’t eaten any carbohydrates in 2 weeks!

Problem solved

I got up and went home to eat dinner. I made a big plate of spaghetti. The next day. I was throwing weights around like a beast! Well, I’m not a big guy. I was a little beast. (Hey, my teachers used to call me that!) Anyway, I realized then, just how important my carbs were.

I know that many of you want to avoid the carbs because you have been told that they get converted to fat and stored. Yes, that can happen. But that only happens when you take in more than you need for energy. Carbs are fuel for energy, and that’s why your body wants to keep them for later. If you eat only what you need, and get regular exercise, you’ll be fine.

The moral of this lesson?

Forget anything extreme. All things in moderation. Check out some more of my posts for details on exercise and nutrition. And remember, if it sounds too good to be true, it is.

Eat a well-rounded and healthy diet. You’ll look better, you’ll feel better, and you’ll be healthier too!